Boeing and Etihad Airways have announced that their close collaboration on environmental goals would be strengthened. The new memorandum of understanding (MOU), which is focused on Etihad’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft, builds on the two companies’ joint commitment to promote sustainable flight operations across Etihad’s worldwide network, which was first established through a 2019 sustainability collaboration.
“Sustainability is a core principle at Etihad, and we believe our continued collaboration with Boeing will drive further innovation in this critical area for the airline and our industry,” said Tony Douglas, group chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group.
He added, “With the highly efficient 787 Dreamliner in our fleet, Etihad has considerably reduced its overall carbon emissions, and our expanded sustainability alliance with Boeing will drive further innovations.”
To minimise Etihad’s fuel use and emissions, the new agreement will focus on improving the efficiency of navigation and flight operations, airframe technologies, and sustainable practises. Furthermore, corporate executives stated that their collaboration allows them to evaluate concepts that might be scaled up to benefit the entire aviation industry.
“Partnership is critically important to decarbonize our industry, and we are honored to work side-by-side with Etihad to advance sustainable aviation,” said Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive officer.
He also said, “Our flight test programs and other joint efforts have clearly demonstrated the value of collaboration by our companies and our industry.”
Etihad is the Middle East’s largest 787 operator, owing to the Dreamliner family’s excellent efficiency. Collaboration on tools for flight planning, arrival and departure processes, en-route flight optimization, and community noise reduction is also part of the deal.
Boeing will supply numerous services for Etihad’s 787 fleets to assist this goal for operational efficiency, including charting and Electronic Flight Bag navigational systems that allow pilots with real-time advice to modify course, altitude, and speed to optimise fuel use and routing. In addition, the two firms will work together to find ways to minimize emissions at Etihad’s facilities, expand the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and boost sustainable finance.
An Etihad 787-10 evaluated innovative technologies to reduce in-flight noise and pollutants as part of the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program in 2020. The program did the complete aero-acoustic studies ever aboard a commercial airplane in collaboration with NASA.
Boeing also collaborates with Etihad Airways to evaluate sustainable methods on commercial flights. Etihad operated its most environmentally friendly flight ever with a 787-10 last month, employing lessons learned and efficiencies established over the preceding two years to minimize carbon emissions in absolute terms compared to previous flights. Boeing offered navigation and flying technologies to help avoid weather and turbulence and collaborated with other industry partners to optimize the trip’s departure, arrival, and taxi to save fuel.
